The Japanese have a word to sum it up

by Mike Tully (Jul 1, 1989)

Pete Rose can probably forget about
going to Japan if his situation fails to improve in the United
States. In fact, a Japanese manager in his position would probably
take a kyuyo.

"I
would think the reaction of the Japanese is that Rose should quit for
a while," Robert Whiting, author and Japanese expert, told United
Press International by telephone from Japan. "They have in Japan
what they call kyuyo
(pronounced cue-yo). It means 'rest.'"

Whiting has written
"You Gotta Have Wa," a book on Japanese baseball. He describes it
as a look at the clash of cultures as seen through baseball.

"Americans are
individualistic," he said. "The Japanese are group-oriented and
strong on the work ethic. They'll start training right after New
Year's. Indoor work, lectures, Zen meditation. There's a lot of
sacrifice bunting and hit and run. It's a much more team-oriented
game. They bunt three times as much."

How do
the Japanese, whose baseball roots go back to the 19th
century, view the difficulties of the Reds manager?

"When the story
first came out about two or three months ago that he was suspected,
the Japanese were really, really shocked," Whiting said. "And
they couldn't believe it because that's too close to game-fixing."

He
explained the word kyuyo.

"It happens
sometimes in baseball, if the team is losing, the manager will take a
rest for a while," Whiting said. "The batting coach may take
over, and if the team does well, maybe he'll come back. The team
feels guilty. It's reverse psychology.

"It's
also a way of firing somebody without causing him to lose face. Then
you just forget about him. It's a less embarrassing way of getting
rid of the manager. If a Japanese manager was in Pete Rose's
situation, he would take a kyuyo until
the matter was resolved.

"The Japanese
thinking would be that it's not fair to the fans, too much of a
distraction."

Whiting outlined
the affection Japanese hold for baseball and for Rose.

"They have
several sports dailies here and, if you count regional editions,
there are 14 different sports dailies and a circulation of over 10
million and a readership of 20 million, maybe 30," he said. "The
Japanese don't drive to work, they take the train. (The papers) are
sold at the kiosks.

"The
one I'm looking at now is called 'Nikkan Sports.' It's 24 pages, the
first seven are about baseball. The one I picked up yesterday had
Pete Rose on the front page. A huge front-page story."

Many Japanese fans
have known Rose for years, and have even seen him play in their home
parks.

"The Japanese
have always liked Pete Rose," Whiting said. "He was here in 1978
and he was here with a group of major league All-Stars in 1979. And
he's made other visits over the years. He's had several commercial
endorsements. They liked his hustling style.

"To them, he
suited their style of play. He wasn't this big free-swinging home-run
hitter, a guy who swings for the fences on every pitch. That's one
thing they didn't like about Americans."

"Rose always said
he was going to end his career in Japan, play the last couple of
years if he could in Japan. It didn't work out that way."

It probably
wouldn't now, either. Whiting said at least two factors would prevent
Rose from doing it. One is the precedent established with former
Dodgers pitcher Steve Howe, whose major-league career was shattered
by substance abuse. The other is a pair of gambling scandals in
Japanese baseball.

One concerned
pitcher Osamu Higashio, a pitcher for the Seibu Lions. He was found
to have gambled at a mahjong parlor. He was suspended for half a year
and his salary cut by 40 percent. Whiting also points to Masahiro
Doi, batting coach on Seibu's farm team. He was caught playing in a
high-stakes mahjong game.

"He was fired and
so was the front office official who was overseeing the farm team
activities," Whiting said. "He was held responsible. He hadn't
created the proper moral atmosphere. That's typical of the Japanese.
The top people share in the responsibility."

In addition, a
game-fixing scandal took place in 1969, Whiting said, resulting in
the ban of six players.

"Ever since
then," he said, "they've been really leery of anybody who has
anything to do with gambling and baseball."

As for Howe, he won
the National League's 1980 Rookie of the Year Award. He suffered a
series of suspensions over drug abuse and was finally expelled from
the minors.

"Steve Howe came
over to Japan a few years ago and he tried out with the Seibu Lions,"
Whiting said. "He was here in February and March and he did fairly
well, but the commissioner said he wasn't welcome. So Howe left.
That's sort of a precedent. There was too much opposition."